A Survey on the Mental Health Status of Social Workers Under Long-term Stress of COVID-19 and the Exploration of Associated Factors: A Case Study of Chaoyang District, Beijing

Objective To study the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among social workers during the prolonged battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and explore the associated risk factors.

Methods Using a stratified cluster sampling method, we selected all social workers in the five streets of Chaoyang District, Beijing(Jiuxianqiao, Wangjing, Taiyanggong, Shibalidian, Sunhe) from November 2021 to March 2022 as the study population(social worker group), and the frontline medical staffs(medical professional group) of the same age range of the corresponding community hospitals of the same five streets, and the community residents(resident group) as the control population. The ratio of the social worker group, medical professional group, and resident group was 1∶1∶1. The Sojump platform was used to send electronic questionnaires to the wechat groups of social workers, healthcare workers, and community residents to carry out the survey. The screen positive rates for anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders were compared among the 3 groups. Multifactorial Logistic regression and decision tree were used to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders among social workers.

Results A total of 954 questionnaires were collected, of which 62 were disqualified and excluded. Finally, 892 valid questionnaires(93.5%) were included for data analysis. Among them, there were 372 questionnaires(41.7%) from the social worker group, 262(29.4%) from the medical professional group, and 258(28.9%) from the resident group. The prevalences of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders among social workers group were found to be 15.3%, 22.0%, and 48.1%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the medical professional group(7.6%, 10.3%, and 30.5%) and the resident group(7.0%, 8.5%, and 29.5%), all P < 0.001. Multiple Logistic regression showed that family burden(OR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.09-2.96) and Chinese perceived stress scale(CPSS) score(OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.24-1.45) were independent influencing factors for anxiety among social workers; CPSS score(OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.20-1.39) and social support rating scale(SSRS) score(OR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.92-1.00) were independent influencing factors for depression among social workers; family history of mental illness(OR=4.91, 95% CI: 1.27-18.94), CPSS score(OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.14-1.27), and SSRS score(OR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-0.98) were independent influencing factors for sleep disorders among social workers. The results of decision tree analysis were consistent with those of multiple Logistic regression analysis. Family burden, CPSS score, and SSRS score were important variables affecting the mental health of social workers, among which CPSS score was strongly associated with anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders among social workers.

Conclusions Social workers exhibited significant levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders during the long-term pandemic prevention, with CPSS being the most significant influencing factor.